


What's Right and What's Easy

by shisamn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Kirishima Eijirou is a Ray of Sunshine, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 03:41:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17216342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shisamn/pseuds/shisamn
Summary: Kirishima has never really fit in as a Gryffindor - he was timid, shy, self-conscious. Over the summer, he has reinvented himself and is going into his 4th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With the help of his friends and a spiky-haired Slytherin, Kirishima faces his fears, battles his depression, and begins to learn self-worth.Set in the Harry Potter universe where the BNHA kids would be in Harry's year.Notable Side Characters:Hufflepuff – Kaminari Denki, Ashido Mina, Sero HantaGryffindor – Kirishima Eijiro, Midoriya Izuku, Uraraka OchakoRavenclaw – Iida Tenya, Todoroki Shoto, Yaoyorozu MomoSlytherin – Bakugo Katsuki, Shiozaki Ibara, Monoma Nieto, Hagakure Toru, Inasa YoarashiShips that Exist in this AU (so far):Kiri/BakuIzu/Chako





	What's Right and What's Easy

Kirishima didn’t recognize the person staring back at him. Plumes of crimson erupting from his scalp, sticking out in practically every direction, forming what looks like supernova of gelled hair. It was the new him – or so he tried to convince himself. He never fit in as a Gryffindor; hopefully his new scarlet locks would help him do so.

He rinsed his hands of the residue of the dye he used, watching red streaks spiral down the drain with the history of his past self. No longer would he allow himself to be incapacitated by self-doubt and insecurity, not this year. This year, he’d be confident, outgoing, amicable, and live without regret. He would be the man he wanted to be, rather than someone who he was ashamed of.

He continued staring at this new person in the mirror, studying the changes and progress he made over the summer break. His hair, an homage to both his House color and his favorite Auror, was not the only thing different about him. After months of training, his body was now corded with muscle – not that he was out of shape before, but he had his heart set on becoming a beater on his House’s quidditch team. Two-a-day workouts had brought him from his old, average self to the respectable redhead reflected before him.

His eyes climbed up his body’s newfound definitions to find his scar, inspecting the imperfection that stretched from his right upper right eyelid to its brow. He hated it. It was evidence of his weakness. When his magic first manifested, he accidentally pulled a toy to himself, causing a deep gash. It wouldn’t have been so bad, had the wound been treated properly with magic. However, his non-magic parents patched him up as best they could, leaving him permanently scarred and forever ashamed. 

He picked up the foundation he bought to cover the scar. It was the final step in erasing his past. _Erasing_ , he thought to himself. Nothing he had done so far erased anything. He was still entirely himself. Staring at the makeup, he realized his hair was still his hair, just as his body was still his body. He had changed, sure, but nothing was erased. He put down the container, saving that internal crisis for another time and finish getting ready for the day.

Only a few days remained before Kiri needed to make the trip to King’s Cross Station and board the train to Hogwarts. Only five days before his new image and personality are put to the test as a Fourth Year.

* * *

 

Diagon Alley sprawls before Kirishima, bustling with patrons picking up last minute school supplies. Fortunately, Kiri only needs to purchase a few books and a proper beater’s bat for quidditch. _This is it_ , he thinks to himself, _this is the last hurdle to pass before school_.  He inhales a deep, contemplative breath as he steps over the threshold separating the backyard of the Leaky Cauldron from the alleyway.

He finds himself seemingly shoved against the side of the entryway to the alley, forced against the cold, damp bricks that had just rearranged themselves at the tap of his wand. “Watch where you stand, shitty hair!” he hears a voice grunt, as its owner saunters into the scramble of pedestrians. Kirishima tries to catch a glimpse of his accoster, only to glean that the shove came from a young wizard with ashen blonde hair (ironically shaped similarly to his own) who, given the flicker of emerald on the interior of his robe, is most likely a Slytherin. Figures.

Kirishima half-heartedly retakes his breath as he reassures himself of who he is, or who he is trying to be, this year; a simple shove from some Slytherin won’t set him back. He holds his head high and makes his way to Flourish and Blotts for a few new textbooks. The shopkeeper greets him as he enters, Kirishima replies and shoots her the toothiest grin he can muster. Everything is going great so far.

He heads to the section in the back specifically for Hogwarts students, which is separated by subject and then by year. As he approaches the appropriate shelves, he hears familiar flirting from his fellow Gryffindors. Ochako and Midorya. He knows them by voice alone. They were his only friends in his own house, but that wasn’t saying much. Those two were friends with everyone. He doesn’t even know if he can truly call them “friends,” maybe “friendly” would be a better descriptor. Why would they have been actual friends with the reclusive, out-of-place, black-haired Gryffindor he once was, anyway? _Time to test the waters_ , he thinks.

He walks up to the couple, beaming a million-watt smile and glowing like the sun. They glance upwards at him, Midorya not quite making eye contact but Ochako holding his gaze briefly, a spark of recognition in her eyes. Like an old married couple that have grown past the need for verbal communication, the two Gryffindors turn back to one another and resume their conversation without a hitch, as if nothing had happened – neither really recognizing the redhead.

Kiri feels his heart sink. He had wanted this, hadn’t he? He wanted to start anew. He had just rationalized in his mind that they weren’t really friends, after all, so should he be so disappointed that they didn’t realize it was him? He decides to put the feelings aside and focus on his purchases. He needs to worry about getting everything bought and boarding the train before his anxieties get the better of him.

He finishes buying his books and heads down the cobbled street to the aptly named Quality Quidditch Supplies. Since he practiced quidditch using a mere baseball bat that his aunt bought for him, checking out the quidditch bats and deciding on an upgrade was sure to brighten his morning. He opened the shop door and was momentarily greeted, not by the store owner, but by a voice he recognized.

“Kirishima!” He turned to face his caller. It was Iida Tenya, another Forth Year, but a Ravenclaw. How had Iida recognized him? They had classes together and were partners for a couple of Herbology projects in previous years, but never would Kirishima expect Iida to recognize him – especially not so quickly.

“Hey, Iida! How was your summer? It has been so long!” Kiri replies, not knowing exactly where to start.

Iida ignores his question, chopping the air assertively, “You changed your hair! It took a while to realize who you were! It was your scar that allowed me to recognize you.” Kiri feels his cheeks flush. He has always respected Iida’s earnestness and honesty, but the topic of his scar was a sensitive subject.

“Hahaha, yeah! I wanted to feel more like a Gryffindor! Plus, I thought it might help me stand out in this year’s quidditch try-outs!” he beamed, ignoring the latter part of Iida’s statement.

Iida brimmed. “Oooh, I see! I won’t take it easy on you if you make it!”  Kirishima looked at his smiling classmate, puzzled. “I’m the seeker for Ravenclaw! I know I’m not the typical seeker build, but my family are broom-makers…” Iida continues on, in both his explanation and his arm movements. He really wasn’t the seeker build, which is typically that of a horse jockey.

Kirishima wouldn’t tell him this, but Iida was part of his inspiration to try out for quidditch. Hearing about his family’s passion for broom-making and his older brother’s success as a seeker made Kirishima want that kind of accomplishment in his life as well. Not only that, but Iida’s physique served as motivation, too. Kirishima really had no idea why a wizard would maintain such bulky muscles, but Iida’s build commanded respect – something Kirishima has never even had for himself.

Kiri nodded vigorously as he sensed Iida’s spiel to be winding down. “OH!” Iida exclaimed, as if interrupting himself, “I have to go! I’m meeting Midorya and Ochako for breakfast! Please excuse me! It was great to see you again, Kirishima!”

“No problem, bro! I’ll see you at school – and hopefully on the quidditch field!” Iida rushes to the door, apparently not having purchased anything. There, he does a half-turn, gives Kirishima a confident nod accompanied by a warm smile, and leaves on his way to breakfast.

Kiri finds his way to the bat section and begins poring over the choices before him. He smiles to himself as he still can’t believe Iida recognized him so quickly and how warm the interaction had been. He really hoped this was the start to a great year.

* * *

 Kirishima makes it to Platform 9¾ with half an hour to spare. He waits for a couple of kids to disappear into the pillar, one of them with tears streaming down his face as he sprints towards the bricks, trusting the words of encouragement of his dewy-eyed mother he left behind. Kirishima remembers his first year and how he was a spitting image of the crying wizard, charging into his new future.

He clutched his luggage and strode toward the Platform’s entryway, steeling his nerves and fastening his smile. The bricks of the pillar disappeared from his view and the concealed Hogwarts Express was visible – “WHAAAA!!” he hears a scream, drown out by the clamoring of crashing luggage. Kiri realizes he has accidentally plowed into the child from before, who apparently stopped right in the entrance of the platform.

“Are you okay?! I’m so sorry!” Kirishima shouts as he moves their luggage aside and hastily checks on the young boy, who is staring at the concrete beneath him, whimpering. “I didn’t see you because of the pillar. I really am sorry! You’re a First Year, right?” The boy looks up, somehow surprised anyone could’ve guessed. “I didn’t mean to be rude by that!” Kirishima beams, “You just reminded me of myself when you were running through the barrier. You did great! You were really brave!”

The words of encouragement make a watery smile spread across the boy’s face. Seeing that the kid is okay, Kirishima begins helping him gather his scattered luggage. “Hey, I might even see you in Gryffindor!” After collecting the final fallen textbook, Kirishima shoots him one final smile and goes about his way, satisfied about how he handled the situation and hoping he made a positive impact on the youngster’s morning. 

* * *

Kirishima makes his way down to the section of the train to find his fellow Fourth Years. The carriages weren’t necessarily divided, but he has noticed that the youngest students tend to get on at the front of the train while the eldest board at the back. His guess of the third carriage proves correct as he quickly encounters the sounds of his boisterous best friends, originating from a compartment somewhere near the front.

He briefly panics. Would they recognize him? Would they judge him for changing so much? Would they hold it against him for actively changing his personality, trying to become someone other than the person they’ve been best friends with for the past three years? If his goal is to erase his past, why wouldn’t he cut ties with them? Why wouldn’t they want to cut ties with him? He palmed his right eye, expunging the negativity from his mind before reaching out to open the compartment full of his friends.

“KIRISHIMAAAAAAA!” Their reaction is instantaneous. “Your hair looks AMAZING!!!” Mina exclaims. “Man, you’ve really bulked up!” Sero notices through his loose clothing. “Dammit, now I’m going to have more competition…” Kaminari incorrectly assumes. Kiri feels his heart swelling. He missed them so much. Unlike his friends, Kirishima was Muggle-born. During summer break, he couldn’t use enchanted parchment or other magical means of communication like they could. He wasn’t allowed an owl, so he never gave anyone his address in the first place.

He feels his face flush in response to the cascade of compliments. “Hey guys!” he musters, feeling his vocal cords tighten at the overwhelming flood of comradery and nostalgia. He brings his arm to embrace the heat swelling at the base of his neck, tilting his head and smiling brightly. “How have you all been?” The Hufflepuffs erupt to their feet and immediately embrace him in the warmest group hug he’s ever experienced.

Tears threatening to overtake him, he croaks out, “I really missed you guys.”


End file.
